Tullahoma High School basketball teams hosted Lawrence County for homecoming on Friday and split the two games. The Lady ‘Cats bolstered their district lead while the Wildcats’ chance at first place in the regular season evaporated.
Lawrence County - 35
Tullahoma - 53
With the win the Lady Wildcats are just one win away from winning the district for the regular season.
The Lady ‘Cats were led in scoring by Lily Melton with 14 points. She scored 8 points in the fourth quarter. Aubrey North and McLayne Bobo both scored 11 points. North knocked down three, 3-pointers. While Bobo went 7 for 8 from the foul line.
The first quarter was owned by Tullahoma 16-6, they won the last four minutes 12-2. North led the way in the quarter for the Lady Wildcats with 8 points. She hit two shots from beyond the arc in the opening period. Isabella Lidstrom scored 4 points, making two shots. Bobo and Faith Vincent both scored 2 points at the free throw line. Lawrence County was led by Jacie Scott and Kabry Tinin with 2 points each.
The Lady ‘Cats lost the second quarter 7-10. Lawrence County got the score to 20-16 in the last minute before Melton hit a 3 to make it 23-16 at halftime. Nyjah Gibbs scored the other 4 points in the quarter. She made a shot from the field and went 2 for 2 from the stripe. The visitors were led by Sadie Grace Cole with 5 points.
Tullahoma’s offense got back on track in the third quarter scoring 12 points, but they lost the third. They gave up 13 points in the third, the most in any quarter of the game. Gibbs led the team with 5 points in the quarter. She hit a shot and went 3 for 4 from the foul line. Bobo scored 4, knocking down two shots. Melton scored 3, she made a shot and a free throw. Lawrence County was led by Scott with 6 points. Tullahoma led 35-29 going into the fourth.
The Lady Wildcats had their best quarter in the fourth, scoring 18 and holding Lawrence County to 6. Melton led the way with 8 points in the quarter. She hit a 3-pointer, three free throws and a shot from inside the arc. Bobo scored 5 points, all from the foul line. North added 3 points with another make form downtown. Emilee Shuran scored 2 points in the paint. Scott led her team again with 4 points in the quarter.
Tullahoma hit 15 shots from the field with five coming from beyond the arc. They went 18 of 23 from the free throw line. Lawrence County hit just 11 shots, including two 3-pointers. They went 11 of 15 from the stripe.
Lawrence County - 48
Tullahoma - 37
The loss has taken the chance for the Wildcats to finish first in the district during the regular season away. The best the ‘Cats can do is second. If they win both games this week and Marshall County loses to either Franklin County or district leading Lawrence County, the Wildcats will finish second in district.
Tullahoma was led in scoring by Xavier Farrell with 19 points, scoring 11 in the third quarter.
The first quarter was tight until Lawrence County ended on a 6-0 run to lead 17-9 going into the second. Keegan Taylor led the ‘Cats in scoring with 3 points from the foul line. Jaiden Sanchez, Farrell and Jayden Thompson all scored 2 points in the quarter. Farrell and Thompson hit a shot from the field, while Sanchez hit both of his free throw attempts. Alex Bedford led Lawrence County with 9 points on three made 3-pointers.
The second quarter was lacking in offense, the teams combined for 6 points. Tullahoma lost the quarter 4-2. The Wildcats points came from Sam Bobo. Logan Boswell scored all 4 points for Lawrence County. Tullahoma trailed 21-11 at the break.
The Wildcats owned the third quarter, erasing their 10 point deficit by scoring 18 points in the quarter. Farrell opened the half on a personal 7-0 run in the first 2:15 of play. He added another 2 points in the quarter to total 11. Taylor scored 5 points, he sunk a 3-pointer and scored on a shot inside the arc. Khani Johnson scored the other 2 points on a fast break layup. Boswell led Lawrence in scoring in the quarter with 6 points. The game was tied at 29 going into the fourth quarter.
The momentum shifted early in the fourth quarter with Lawrence County taking a 36-29 lead with five minutes left to play. The Wildcats lost their tallest player on the team after he was called for his fourth and fifth fouls on back to back plays. Tullahoma could not get it closer than the seven point deficit. Farrell led the team in scoring with 6 points, making two shots from long distance. Sanchez scored the other 2 points from the foul line. Bedford led Lawrence County with 10 points, making five free throws.
Tullahoma made 13 shots, four from beyond the arc. They went 7 of 9 from the free throw line. Lawrence County hit 14 shots, 10 from downtown. They went 10 of 19 from the stripe. Tullahoma was whistled for 20 fouls during the game, while Lawrence County was called for just seven. This difference was obvious in the second and fourth quarter where Tullahoma had a combine 12 fouls to three from Lawrence County.
Tullahoma went to Franklin County yesterday, but the results were unavailable at the time of print. They will host Giles County Thursday at 6 p.m. for the last regular season game.
